The power of sharing to support consumers through liminality

Across a lifetime, consumers face many transitions in which they need social support. Difficult transitions are often fraught with challenges, such as transitioning from one social role to another. But social support is particularly important for consumers in liminality when they are caught between social roles failing to transition from an old to a new role. Consumers in liminality benefit if they can draw on social networks for support to help them complete their transition. In this study, we explored how one form of sharing—trading skills and services in an exchange network—provides consumers with important social support helping them to cope and transition into new social roles. Specifically, a sharing exchange network helps consumers draw emotional, cognitive, and material support that enhances their well-being and has some advantages over social support from family and friends.